Education through theater
Guest of the column Irina Averina is the commercial director of the Odessa Youth Theater named after Yuri Olesha. But her activities do not end there: she is a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine, is a member of the European Association “Culture and Creativity”, runs the OpenDoors production center, and supervises creative projects. Our conversation is about the relevance of theater, about theatrical culture and... about the ability to believe in miracles.
- You worked as a journalist for the South Ukrainian Media Holding; in Moscow, you were the editor-in-chief of a publication with subscribers throughout the CIS... When you are asked to tell something about yourself, what do you say?
- I’ll simply say: I was born in Odessa! There is a story connected to this that gave me a lot to think about. Working in Moscow, I flew to Odessa several times a year. Once on the plane, they asked me, are you going home or visiting? I answered that I was going home, and heard an enthusiastic: “So you are lucky to be born in Odessa!” I was very surprised by this reaction, and only with time was I able to appreciate it.
- As Leonid Utesov said, everyone would like to be born in Odessa, but not everyone succeeded!
- I was lucky not only to be born here, but also to meet amazing people from whom I learned a lot and am still learning! During a wonderful period of study at the university, in the archives and libraries of Odessa, Kyiv, Moscow, at scientific conferences, in editorial offices, and in the largest telecommunications company as a regional PR manager of the Odessa, Nikolaev, and Kherson regions. Since 2012 - in a creative environment as a project manager (and these are dozens of cities where I have visited with theater projects and festivals: Kyiv, Lvov, Kharkov, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Tver, Ulyanovsk, Khabarovsk, Irkutsk, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Beijing... These are people with whom I still maintain friendly relations, and I am grateful for all the meetings and events in my life.
- Is that why you are investing in the development of theatrical Odessa?
- Yes, Odessa comes first for me. But I try to ensure that all projects are at the all-Ukrainian or international level. In the three years since its launch, OpenDoors has entered into international cooperation and become a successful project, although we did not set such a goal. This is good support for young, talented directors, playwrights, stage designers, artists, theater photographers - everyone who is in one way or another connected with the theater.
- Did you have to start all over again in Odessa?
- Yes and no. A good idea is half the battle; We also need to understand how in demand this is. To do this, we conducted a survey in 2015. We were interested in which theaters the Odessa public goes to and why. We tried to cover all segments of society. A pleasant surprise was that more than 30% of those who filled out the questionnaire go to the theater monthly, and about 8% go to the theater every week. Why? Emotions! Most of all, people want to get positive emotions from going to the theater to see the performances of famous actors and the productions of famous directors. This reassured us: It means that the Odessa public still loves theater!
- You say: “as before”?
- Odessa has always been a theater city! We can talk endlessly about theatrical Odessa. Imagine, 100-120 years ago, we had dozens of periodicals related only to the theater: “Theater Leaflet”, “Intermission”, “Odessa Theater Review”, “Modern Theater and Singing”, “Divertiment”, “Variety Theatre,” “Lights of Odessa”, “Melpomene”, etc. What other city could boast of so many newspapers and magazines and such thoughtful spectators - theater fans! Not to mention theater critics, whom even celebrities were afraid of.
- But theaters at that time were supported by patrons...
- The famous philanthropist Joseph Chizhevich in his essay “The City of Odessa and Odessa Society...” (1879) described the theatrical Odessa of that time in some detail. The theater had patrons and patrons of the arts, thanks to whom the audience saw the “first celebrities” on the Odessa stage. The orchestra alone was allocated 80 thousand rubles in banknotes or 20 thousand rubles in silver. In such conditions the troupe was wonderful, and ticket prices were low...
- Has much changed since then?
- Oh yes!.. Maybe that’s why we conducted the first laboratory in the Odessa Youth Theater. The goal was not only to search for new talents and creative opportunities; we also decided to draw the attention of the authorities and the public to the problems of this theater. We conducted master classes and lectures by theater critics and directors. Vlad Troitsky, Anna Lipkovskaya, Anna Veselovskaya, Irina Zapolskaya, Stanislav Zhirkov, Pavel Rudnev came to Odessa. It was a large-scale event; it was covered by all TV channels in the city, and there were many publications. And I thank everyone for supporting this project!
- Have you been able to conduct many such laboratories, and what is the result?
- Over the past 5 years, 6 international creative laboratories for young directors have been successfully held in Ukraine in Kyiv, Lvov, Odessa in various genres (operetta, musical, rock opera, etc.) both on the big stage and in small forms. More than two hundred applications were received from young directors from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Slovakia, Great Britain, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Estonia, Iran, France... The expert councils included chief theater directors from Ukraine and Georgia, Poland and Belarus, theater critics, and teachers of theater universities. We were supported by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Kyiv and Lviv city councils, the French Institute in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. As a result, our viewers can watch new performances by young directors in state theaters. Premieres have already taken place in Odessa - at the Youth Theater and Musical Comedy Theater in Kyiv - at the operetta theaters "Golden Gate", "DAKH"; at the First Theater for Children and Youth in Lviv. Five young laboratory participants became chief theater directors.
- Let's return to the theater of young spectators. Are children's theaters needed now?
- Certainly! Moreover, by the age of three, most children have gadgets in their hands, and by the age of seven, they know more than their parents. They are really in demand! There are many striking examples. For the third year now, we have been conducting Family Club classes “Let’s go to the theater!” This is a unique theater educational program for primary school students and their parents in Ukraine. It is based on the experience of theater teachers working with children and youth audiences. Now the club has 4 groups from different schools (No. 106, 107, boarding school No. 3 and the private school “Harmony”). Recently, the children of one of the groups watched a play about the cat Leopold. After the performance, they get the opportunity to interact with the artists. What was it! The first-graders did not leave the stage. They read poetry to the artist who played Leopold the Cat, surrounded him and hugged him. It was very touching and heartwarming. Children remain children, no matter what gadgets they are given. They are emotional and trusting. They believe in miracles! One day I suggested that they take Aladdin's lamp and make a wish. Some refused to even touch it: they were afraid that a real Genie would come out of the lamp!
- How to sign up for the Family Theater Club?
- You just need to express your desire! Take Aladdin's lamp. Classes are held once a month after watching the performance. A prerequisite: children come to the theater with their parents, watch the performance, and then participate together in interactive educational games and discuss what they saw. During the classes, they will learn how to behave in the theater, why a theater program is needed, what props and props are, what types of theatrical costumes there are and who creates them, and what theatrical professions exist. And after each lesson, they get homework. In the foyer of the theater, there is a permanent exhibition of drawings and crafts by club members. Last theater season, the guys from “Harmony” even staged the play “Thumbelina” not only at their school, but also in the Small Hall of the Youth Theater. That was great!
- Does this project work in other theaters in Odessa?
- The club cooperates with all theaters whose repertoire includes performances for primary school age. We conducted classes in both the puppet theater and the musical comedy theater. We are going to cooperate with the Odessa Theater and Art College, where there is a museum of props and props. The main thing is that I see the result: children become more proactive, more sociable, emotionally responsive, and socially competent. They develop the ability to express their understanding of the plot and character. They compare that in the play “All Mice Love Cheese” the main characters were without masks, and in the play “Mowgli” - with masks, and this is more interesting! And parents get the opportunity not only to observe their children, but also to discuss with them what they see. This is a process of co-creation. What replaces gadgets.
- So, Youth Theaters are able to tear children away from gadgets?
- At the first lesson, I ask the children how a theater performance differs from a cartoon, film or video. Surprisingly, children as young as 6 know the answer to this question! We need live theaters with a repertoire for children, teenagers, the whole family, no matter what we call them: theaters for young spectators, youth... We need festivals in such theaters. The last Youth Festival was in 2013 in Makeevka. And for now we are just talking about it. Why shouldn't Odessa become the initiator of such a wonderful festival? How many interesting things Odessa children could see! Our only significant achievement (but this is a personal initiative of the theater) is that this year we became a full member of the International Association of Theaters for Children and Youth (ASSITEJ unit’s theaters), which has more than 80 participating countries. Look at the important work they do, how many festivals they hold, and how they understand the importance of theater, specifically for children and youth! And then all doubts will disappear by themselves.
- So what do you dream about?
- The Youth Theater’s repertoire includes the play “Magic Shoes”. The fact is that whoever puts on these shoes will no longer be able to deceive. Once after the performance, I invited the club’s first-graders and their parents to sew such magic shoes as homework. What shocked me was that so many children honestly refused! And dreams come true! I once answered this question live on Radio Culture: I dream that my OpenDoors project will be in Ukraine. And the next milestone brought me to my hometown...
Interviewed by: Tatiana Savchenko
Published in the business magazine "Zavarnik", august-september 2019
- You worked as a journalist for the South Ukrainian Media Holding; in Moscow, you were the editor-in-chief of a publication with subscribers throughout the CIS... When you are asked to tell something about yourself, what do you say?
- I’ll simply say: I was born in Odessa! There is a story connected to this that gave me a lot to think about. Working in Moscow, I flew to Odessa several times a year. Once on the plane, they asked me, are you going home or visiting? I answered that I was going home, and heard an enthusiastic: “So you are lucky to be born in Odessa!” I was very surprised by this reaction, and only with time was I able to appreciate it.
- As Leonid Utesov said, everyone would like to be born in Odessa, but not everyone succeeded!
- I was lucky not only to be born here, but also to meet amazing people from whom I learned a lot and am still learning! During a wonderful period of study at the university, in the archives and libraries of Odessa, Kyiv, Moscow, at scientific conferences, in editorial offices, and in the largest telecommunications company as a regional PR manager of the Odessa, Nikolaev, and Kherson regions. Since 2012 - in a creative environment as a project manager (and these are dozens of cities where I have visited with theater projects and festivals: Kyiv, Lvov, Kharkov, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Arkhangelsk, Tver, Ulyanovsk, Khabarovsk, Irkutsk, Perm, Chelyabinsk, Beijing... These are people with whom I still maintain friendly relations, and I am grateful for all the meetings and events in my life.
- Is that why you are investing in the development of theatrical Odessa?
- Yes, Odessa comes first for me. But I try to ensure that all projects are at the all-Ukrainian or international level. In the three years since its launch, OpenDoors has entered into international cooperation and become a successful project, although we did not set such a goal. This is good support for young, talented directors, playwrights, stage designers, artists, theater photographers - everyone who is in one way or another connected with the theater.
- Did you have to start all over again in Odessa?
- Yes and no. A good idea is half the battle; We also need to understand how in demand this is. To do this, we conducted a survey in 2015. We were interested in which theaters the Odessa public goes to and why. We tried to cover all segments of society. A pleasant surprise was that more than 30% of those who filled out the questionnaire go to the theater monthly, and about 8% go to the theater every week. Why? Emotions! Most of all, people want to get positive emotions from going to the theater to see the performances of famous actors and the productions of famous directors. This reassured us: It means that the Odessa public still loves theater!
- You say: “as before”?
- Odessa has always been a theater city! We can talk endlessly about theatrical Odessa. Imagine, 100-120 years ago, we had dozens of periodicals related only to the theater: “Theater Leaflet”, “Intermission”, “Odessa Theater Review”, “Modern Theater and Singing”, “Divertiment”, “Variety Theatre,” “Lights of Odessa”, “Melpomene”, etc. What other city could boast of so many newspapers and magazines and such thoughtful spectators - theater fans! Not to mention theater critics, whom even celebrities were afraid of.
- But theaters at that time were supported by patrons...
- The famous philanthropist Joseph Chizhevich in his essay “The City of Odessa and Odessa Society...” (1879) described the theatrical Odessa of that time in some detail. The theater had patrons and patrons of the arts, thanks to whom the audience saw the “first celebrities” on the Odessa stage. The orchestra alone was allocated 80 thousand rubles in banknotes or 20 thousand rubles in silver. In such conditions the troupe was wonderful, and ticket prices were low...
- Has much changed since then?
- Oh yes!.. Maybe that’s why we conducted the first laboratory in the Odessa Youth Theater. The goal was not only to search for new talents and creative opportunities; we also decided to draw the attention of the authorities and the public to the problems of this theater. We conducted master classes and lectures by theater critics and directors. Vlad Troitsky, Anna Lipkovskaya, Anna Veselovskaya, Irina Zapolskaya, Stanislav Zhirkov, Pavel Rudnev came to Odessa. It was a large-scale event; it was covered by all TV channels in the city, and there were many publications. And I thank everyone for supporting this project!
- Have you been able to conduct many such laboratories, and what is the result?
- Over the past 5 years, 6 international creative laboratories for young directors have been successfully held in Ukraine in Kyiv, Lvov, Odessa in various genres (operetta, musical, rock opera, etc.) both on the big stage and in small forms. More than two hundred applications were received from young directors from Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Slovakia, Great Britain, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Estonia, Iran, France... The expert councils included chief theater directors from Ukraine and Georgia, Poland and Belarus, theater critics, and teachers of theater universities. We were supported by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Kyiv and Lviv city councils, the French Institute in Ukraine, and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation. As a result, our viewers can watch new performances by young directors in state theaters. Premieres have already taken place in Odessa - at the Youth Theater and Musical Comedy Theater in Kyiv - at the operetta theaters "Golden Gate", "DAKH"; at the First Theater for Children and Youth in Lviv. Five young laboratory participants became chief theater directors.
- Let's return to the theater of young spectators. Are children's theaters needed now?
- Certainly! Moreover, by the age of three, most children have gadgets in their hands, and by the age of seven, they know more than their parents. They are really in demand! There are many striking examples. For the third year now, we have been conducting Family Club classes “Let’s go to the theater!” This is a unique theater educational program for primary school students and their parents in Ukraine. It is based on the experience of theater teachers working with children and youth audiences. Now the club has 4 groups from different schools (No. 106, 107, boarding school No. 3 and the private school “Harmony”). Recently, the children of one of the groups watched a play about the cat Leopold. After the performance, they get the opportunity to interact with the artists. What was it! The first-graders did not leave the stage. They read poetry to the artist who played Leopold the Cat, surrounded him and hugged him. It was very touching and heartwarming. Children remain children, no matter what gadgets they are given. They are emotional and trusting. They believe in miracles! One day I suggested that they take Aladdin's lamp and make a wish. Some refused to even touch it: they were afraid that a real Genie would come out of the lamp!
- How to sign up for the Family Theater Club?
- You just need to express your desire! Take Aladdin's lamp. Classes are held once a month after watching the performance. A prerequisite: children come to the theater with their parents, watch the performance, and then participate together in interactive educational games and discuss what they saw. During the classes, they will learn how to behave in the theater, why a theater program is needed, what props and props are, what types of theatrical costumes there are and who creates them, and what theatrical professions exist. And after each lesson, they get homework. In the foyer of the theater, there is a permanent exhibition of drawings and crafts by club members. Last theater season, the guys from “Harmony” even staged the play “Thumbelina” not only at their school, but also in the Small Hall of the Youth Theater. That was great!
- Does this project work in other theaters in Odessa?
- The club cooperates with all theaters whose repertoire includes performances for primary school age. We conducted classes in both the puppet theater and the musical comedy theater. We are going to cooperate with the Odessa Theater and Art College, where there is a museum of props and props. The main thing is that I see the result: children become more proactive, more sociable, emotionally responsive, and socially competent. They develop the ability to express their understanding of the plot and character. They compare that in the play “All Mice Love Cheese” the main characters were without masks, and in the play “Mowgli” - with masks, and this is more interesting! And parents get the opportunity not only to observe their children, but also to discuss with them what they see. This is a process of co-creation. What replaces gadgets.
- So, Youth Theaters are able to tear children away from gadgets?
- At the first lesson, I ask the children how a theater performance differs from a cartoon, film or video. Surprisingly, children as young as 6 know the answer to this question! We need live theaters with a repertoire for children, teenagers, the whole family, no matter what we call them: theaters for young spectators, youth... We need festivals in such theaters. The last Youth Festival was in 2013 in Makeevka. And for now we are just talking about it. Why shouldn't Odessa become the initiator of such a wonderful festival? How many interesting things Odessa children could see! Our only significant achievement (but this is a personal initiative of the theater) is that this year we became a full member of the International Association of Theaters for Children and Youth (ASSITEJ unit’s theaters), which has more than 80 participating countries. Look at the important work they do, how many festivals they hold, and how they understand the importance of theater, specifically for children and youth! And then all doubts will disappear by themselves.
- So what do you dream about?
- The Youth Theater’s repertoire includes the play “Magic Shoes”. The fact is that whoever puts on these shoes will no longer be able to deceive. Once after the performance, I invited the club’s first-graders and their parents to sew such magic shoes as homework. What shocked me was that so many children honestly refused! And dreams come true! I once answered this question live on Radio Culture: I dream that my OpenDoors project will be in Ukraine. And the next milestone brought me to my hometown...
Interviewed by: Tatiana Savchenko
Published in the business magazine "Zavarnik", august-september 2019